SWA #8

Works Cited

Vollum, Scott. Last Words and the Death Penalty: Voices of the Condemned and their Co-Victims. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishers. 2008

The Death Penalty Today. Boca Raton, Fla. CRC Press. 2008

Delfino, Michelangelo. Death Penalty USA. Tampa, Fla. MoBeta Publishing. 2008

Bedau, Hugo. The Death Penalty in America. HeinOnline. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=info:YIaZe3wfB1IJ:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport&pg=1

Hood, R. Death Penalty: A World Wide Prospective. Oxford University Press, Inc. New York, NY. 1989

Rogers, Alan. Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts.  Amherst. University of Massachusetts Press. 2008

Is the Death Penalty Dying?. Amsterdam, London. Elsevier JAI, 2008.

F E Zimring, G Hawkins, Capital Punishment and the American Agenda.  Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. 1987. http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=105067

SWA #7

Review Questions

1) If you decide to use library subscription services to find articles you can search extensively through years and years of articles from all sorts of different print periodicals. While if you use the world wide web you can also find many articles with just the click of your mouse, however not all sources on the web are credible. Anyone with a computer can set up a web page, this is why it is important to make sure that the website you are getting your information is accurate and updated. LexisNexis Academics indexes are very credible because it provides full text and is updated hourly.

2) A bibliography is an alphabetically arranges list of all the sources you have used to support and explain your research. A bibliography includes the author of the source, the title of the source, the date published, and the publishing company. An annotated bibliography is when you add annotations to your bibliographies. Annotations are summaries and responses , Annotations show that you understand each source and a response shows your thoughts about the information in the source. 

3) In order to declare a source credible or not, you must evaluate ever source you use in your paper. Firs you must look at the source and see if it is associated with an organization that is recognized in that field. Next you must see if the source is listed under a reputable domain to make sure the domain is credible. Also you should look and see if the source is peer-reviewed, this means that experts review the source to make sure it is accurate and updated. Other things to keep in mind are is the source accesed by large amounts of people. is the source directed at extremists, is the source current and is the source moral, immoral, ethical, or unethical. 

4) It is important to make a research plan to guide your research because it helps to form a base. If you know where you want your paper to go it is much easier to stay on track and unorganized. Having a plan will give you ideas to go off of once you start actually writing. It will also make sure your paper stays organized because you will ahve already developed your plan, instead of shifting from topic to topic. 

5) According to the Council of Writing Program, plagiarism is when a writer purposefully and knowingly uses the ideas, language, and other types of work without acknowledging the source. In order to avoid plagiarism you must cite your sources, in text and within a bibliography. Also make sure unless you are quoting a source do not take the exact text from a source. Just be mindful of your sources and do not try to pass off someone's ideas as your own. Give credit where credit is due.  

in class writing

My post-secret is a picture of an old woman sitting on a bench by herself and on it i wrote "some of my biggest fears are of getting old and being alone." I used certain techniques to get my point across, for instance this post secret is kind of a dark, cold, sad secret so I used black and white to illustrate the dimness of this fear. I also used the old woman sitting by herself because of course that displays her being alone. Another technique i used to reitterate the feeling of being alone, is when typing the text I put the word alone at the bottom in it's own corner. I have always known that this was a sort of secret and probably a feeling most people have. When asked to make my own post-secret I decided that this is a feeling I have that I never really talk about but one that probably a decent amount of people could relate to.

SWA #6

The two MAC ads I chose to compare and contrast was the 1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial and the MAC love commercial. These ads are both very different not only in length but in the message they are trying to send. For instance the 1984 Apple Macintosh Commercial was trying to spread the word about this new type of computer and the new technology that it offers. The commercial used a lot of technology and insinuated that this computer will change the way technology will function in the future. If you watch this ad it comes across as MAC's being this incredible new invention that everyone needs to get to know. This ad appears to be an earlier ad and the MAC love ad seems to appear at a later time, after MAC's have already been introduced to the public and have become popular. The reason the MAC love ad is different is because it is not so much introducing the idea of a MAC but rather showing how the whole world has come to use MAC's. The way they used all different languages shows that not only people in th United States have come to love MAC's but that they are popular in all different places in the world. The earlier (1984) ad is more or less trying to get the word out about MAC's and inform people of what they are capable of and the MAC love ad is trying to advocate that most of the world has come to use MAC's and so if you aren't one of these people who loves a MAC you need to get one. Also both ads use different methods to grab attention. For instance the 1984 ad uses all types of crazy technology to grab the audiences attention while the MAC love one is short and to the point but leaves the viewer with an overall positive opinion of the ad due to the happy music and all the "i love you's" in different languages. These ad's reflect the time period they were made in by of course the 1984 ad trying to show how this MAC can change the future while the MAC love was obviously made after MAC's have already become popular. 

Post Secret

The post secret I decided to discuss is one that shows a football player holding a football like he is about to throw it and then in little text boxes with what looks like a typed font it says "You molested me but you didn't break me" and then at the bottom it says "I WON!" written in red ink and it looks hand written instead of typed. I really thought this was interesting because at first when you see a football player you don't expect it to be something so deep it sort of makes you think of this big football player with a dark secret. Another reason I chose this particular picture is because I liked how the words I WON! were handwritten in red ink. The red ink makes it stand out and because it's hand written it almost shows that the person who molested the author of this no longer has a hold on them anymore. I also thought it was good to use an athlete because athletes normally stand for someone who is strong and able to fight battles to achieve something. Maybe this person is trying to say that they have fought a long battle with themselves over being molested and now are finally letting go and finally feel that the have won the battle. Also, something else I found interesting about this image was that the first typed text box appears over the football players face. Maybe the person who made this post secret did that because they are ashamed of what happened and don't want anyone to who they are. 

Advertisement

Advertisement

An advertisement that really stood out to me was one advocating that people should not drink and drive . The advertisement caught my eye because it shows a tree with a white box around it and inside the box it says reserved for drunk drivers. I found this argument extremely creative and interesting. The way I see it is that parking a car is an everyday experience that most people rarely think about. However, taking the parking spot out of context and putting it around a tree really grabs someone's attention. When I came across this advertisement I immediately realized something was wrong with the picture and that's why it stood out to me. Everyone can relate to the simple task of parking a car therefore making this ad relatable to all people able to drive. It also sends the message that if you drink and drive easy things like parking a car may become difficult. The advertisers appealed to the viewers emotions in a very delicate way. For example, I think they may have chose this particular advertisement because when people park their car they are making a decision to go somewhere. For instance if you park at the mall you made the decision to go to the mall or if you park at a certain restaurant you chose to go to that restaurant. I feel like the advertisers are trying to send the message that if you drink and drive you are making a decision that could cause serious damages, like running into a tree. Another aspect of this advertisement is that the colors are very dim and cold. This gives the viewer a sense of gloom because the picture is not bright and vibrant. I think this was used in order to give the viewers fear. Overall I feel that this advertisement was very well made, it has every aspect of a strong argument. It grabs the viewers attention and at the same time sends out a very powerful message through graphics. 

In Class Writing: How is Visual Argument Different from Written Argument

Visual Argument is different from written argument because the Author has to get their point across in much less words. In a visual argument the author's point may not be immediately recognizable to the reader, yet the overall point may be very similar. Visual argument may be more effective for certain people because a picture is colorful and vibrant and often times grabs a person's attention, while in a written argument people may become bored with all the words and lose interest. However, at the same time the advantages of written argument is that the author can specifically spell out their point of view and the reader knows exactly what the argument is.

In Class Writing

What made me pick the article " Are bloggers Journalists?" is because I thought the author presented the argument in a very intelligent but understandable manner. The author compares teh situation tot hat of the Founding Fathers which is a subject everyone is familiar with. I also picked this article because I am majoring in Journalism and was interested in this topic, it was something I could relate to. The author appealed to the emotion of American pride. He relates bloggers to people like Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, people who were very influential in helping to make America a country. I also picked the article "If You Run A Red Light WIll Everyone Know." I picked this article because it was also very relatable to me. I think most everyone has come close to running a red light or speeding and I found the argument brought up was very interesting.  Everyone wants to be safe but at what cost do you give up your privacy. The criminal websites are now even showing when people simply run a red light. I felt this article was extremely relatable to all kinds of people. 

SWA #5 Response to Ch 10 readings

1. Are Bloggers Journalists?
In the article "Are Bloggers Journalists," Christopher Daly discusses the controversial topic of whether bloggers should be protected under the same rights that Journalists are. Daly does a nice job of remianing neutral and explains both arguments of whether they should or should not be protected. I find it interesting that to support his own opinion that bloggers should be protected, he goes back to the 1700's and uses Thomas Paine's common Common Sense as an expample. By using this example, Daly is appealing to people's emotions. He's appealing to an audience that understands what America was founded on. Daly's point is that Thomas Paine had no expertise in Journalism and that his phamplets were similar to today's blogs. I agree with his position that America was founded on Freedom of Speech and it is very hypocritical to deny bloggers of the rights that Journalist have. I found myself entrigued by this article for many reasons. One, I am a Journalism major so I can relate tot he topic. Also, now that we are using blogs in English I am more comfortable with blogs and have a better understanding of their function. Finally, I am really interested in politics and find his connection to the First Amendment interesting and entriguing. I think Daly does a good job of appealing to a wide audience and also a nice job at supporting his position.

2. "If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?"
This article by Brad Stone was very interesting. Stone discusses whether or not it is ethical for websites like CriminalSearches.com to exist. Websites like these have become very popular and are making it much easier for people to access any person's criminal record. Now, a lot of people feel that if you commit a crime you no longer have a right to privacy and that people should know that you broken the law. However, Stone brings up some good arguments. For instance sometimes those websites can make mistakes and list someone as a criminal when they infact aren't. Or the website can show that you were speeding. This information can cause many restrictions on someone, causing people not to get jobs simply because the got a speeding ticket? I think there is a very fine line between trying to protect safety and invasion of privacy. Although Stone does a nice job of showing both sides of this argument, he does give his opinion. I agree with him that websites these days are going a little too far. Where will it stop? If we continue to head this way people may have no privacy at all.